Texting crackdown

Will Florida ever tire of its role as Cletus? You know, the slackjawed yokel from “The Simpsons” who once said, “I don’t sign anything, unless I pretend to read it.”

Yes, we know the state has trouble counting votes. But will we again declare to the nation that here in Florida we

Maybe. Or, lawmakers might pass a half-measure, like the one that state Sen. Nancy Detert introduces every year. Bless her for trying, but Detert’s bill makes texting while driving a secondary traffic offense.

That means a cop who pulls up beside an oblivious motorist pecking away on a smart phone is powerless unless the motorist is speeding or committing some other offense.

Nearly every other state that bans texting — 35 out of 39 — has made it a primary offense. That means a cop doesn’t need some other reason to ticket a driver for texting.

Louisiana passed a texting and driving law in 2008 and made it a secondary offense. Two years later Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal (hardly a flaming liberal) signed a new law making it a primary offense.

Let’s be clear about one thing: Texting while driving cannot legitimately be interpreted as an issue of individual liberty like, say, choosing whether to wear a motorcycle helmet.

Distracted drivers put others in peril, not just themselves.

Florida’s legislators ought to keep that in mind when deciding whether to be thoughtful lawmakers or slack-jawed yokels.